A Small Fall

A drive across Walland Marsh first thing this morning was very productive with 20+ Tree Sparrows at various stops along with 4+ Marsh harriers, 4 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Great spots and 1 Turtle Dove. The ditches were still full of Reed and Sedge Warblers.

At the ARC an Avocet was new in joining 200+ Golden Plover, 400+ Lapwing and a few LRPs, Common and Green Sandpipers and Dunlin also the Goosander and a Little Gull. On the track to the Water Tower a few migrants with 6 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 15+ Common Whitethroats, 6 Willow warblers also many Reed and Sedge Warblers, 4 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Great Spots, 1 Sparrowhawk, the Cetti's Warblers being particularly vocal this morning. Later in the day 25 Knot joined the waders. 

Around The Point, The Moat and The Desert 16+ Yellow wagtails, 40+ Pied Wagtails, 6 Willow warblers, 15+ Common Whitethroats, 2+ Black Redstarts, 6+ Stonechats, 8+ Northern Wheatears one with an apparently deformed bill, a few Linnets and Mippits and a few Swallows and Sand Martins moving with 2 Swifts.

Note the elongated upper mandible.

A sea watch this afternoon was uninspiring with just a few Terns and Gannets feeding off shore with 1 Black Tern and a few Sand Martins going out to sea. On the the beach a party of 7 Turnstones and the Glaucous Gull still present.

A Purple Patch

My day started at the ARC Pit where the Goosander was sitting on an island near the hide, 2 Common Sandpipers, 2 Green Sandpipers, 200+ Golden Plovers, 500+ Lapwing, 4 LRPs, 1 Snipe and no sign of the B.N.Grebe. In the pines by the water tower 4 Willow Warblers, 6+ Common Whitethroats, 2 G.S.Woodpeckers, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 200+ Sand Martins, 6 Swifts, 2 Marsh harriers and Common Redstart.

Another visit to the pit late morning added 24 Knot, a confiding Little Egret catching tiddlers and Damselflys infront the hide.



 A mid morning visit to The Patch found 2 Black Terns amongst the Comic and Sandwich Terns. Behind the hide 2+ Black Redstarts and 2 Willow Warblers flycatching from the perimeter fence.
Mid afternoon at the RSPB reserve was very quiet probably due to the strong SW wind, but as i plodded around the south end of Dengemarsh to view the flooded field i flushed a Juvenile Purple Heron from the ditch beside the path. The Heron flew off to the north end of Dengemarsh and i managed to get poor record shots of it as it first headed straight into the sun and then dirctly away. I let the Obs know and Mark Hollingworth who shortly met me at Hookers looking for the bird. We went back to the Dengemarsh hide where a short while later the Heron gave a flight view to 7 of us as it flew across the reed bed and appeared to land in the channel where last years Purples nested.
A short late afternoon visit to the fishing boats found 50+ Terns fishing off shore with 3 Black Terns also seen 2 Fulmars, 1 Kittiwake, several Gannets and 6+ Harbour Porpoises.

Purple Heron



Purple Heron

Rare on The Point

As i was staring into the Light House Garden a movement in the Sycamore caught my eye. Moments later a Treecreeper sp. came into view in a tree that has probably hosted more Short-toed Treecreepers than Eurasian. I called Dave Walker who quickly arrived and with better views it became apparent that it was an Eurasian Treecreeper still a rare bird for  The Point.
As we were watching the Creeper news of an unfamiliar Warbler in a nearby garden. Despite a couple of hours watching and a very few fleeting glimpses confirmed ID eluded us. Those that had slightly better views had thoughts of Paddyfield Warbler. I doubt we will ever know.   

 On the ARC Pit today no sign of the White-rumped Sandpiper but 212 Golden Plover, 1000+ Lapwing, 4 LRPs, 4 Ringed Plovers, 3 Knot, 9 Dunlin, 3 Common Sandpipers, 2 Green Sandpipers, a Black-necked Grebe, the Goosander and a Common Redstart. Also this Bill Tagged Pochard. The Glaucous Gull was still on the beach.

Lesser Emperor

Today was a little dull after yesterdays excitement. With 2 Blackwits, 2 LRPs, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpipers, 2 Common Sandpipers, 2 Little Gulls, 50+ Golden Plovers, the Goosander, 3+ Marsh Harriers and the usual wildfowl at the ARC Pit today.
From the fishing boats 1 Bonxie and few terns. The Patch had c30 Common Terns with 2 Black Terns and little else.
At Springfield Bridge this afternoon a Lesser Emperor Dragonfly was showing well but never settled making pictures of it a challenge. It was to fast for auto focus. The 3 images below were done with manual focus.

I am off to Majorka tomorrow for a week, definitely not a birding holiday!


Lesser Emperor

Lesser Emperor

Lesser Emperor

An excellent Seawatch

A very poor record of the Manx Shearwater taken through the driving rain

First stop the ARC which was fairly quiet this morning with no Golden Plover and few Lapwings but 1 Wood Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpipers, 2 Green Sandpipers 2 Dunlin, 6 LRP, Ringed Plovers, 2 Little Gulls, 2 Marsh harriers and 2 Little Gulls. As I left the rain set in so i had a seawatch from 10.15-16.00 in the company of Mark Hollingworth who was on the beach when i arrived, having already seen 2 Manx Shearwaters and a Bonxie which bode well.

Todays Totals whilst i was present was:

Manx Shearwater 1w

Balearic Shearwater 1w

Fulmar 1w

Gannet 500+ conservative

Common Tern 500+ conservative

Sandwich Tern 150+ conservative

Arctic Skua 14w

Bonxie 1w

Black Tern 49w

Kittiwake 60+w

Barwit 5w

Knot 20w

Guillemot 3 on sea

Back at the south end of the ARC Pit late this afternoon, 5 Barwits,16 Dunlin,2 Common Sandpipers, 2 LRPs, the Goosander and 100+ Swifts.

  

Dragons, Snakes and Ninjas

Record of 4 Wood Sandpipers at the ARC Pit late this afternoon.

The birding at Dungeness was some what patchy today with 20+ Willow Warblers, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 12+ Common Whitethroats, 1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Green Wood Peckers, 2 Little Gulls, 3 Green Sandpipers, 2 Common Sandpipers, 6 LRPs including the now rapidly growing young ones amd the Goosander all at thr ARC Pit this morning. 

The Patch was uninspiring with c50 Common Terns, 1 Juv Yellow Legged Gull, a Peregrine and few Harbour Porpoises and Gannets off shore.

The bushes were virtually bird less, so a lot of time was spent around the Long Pits looking for the elusive Lesser Emporer Dragonflys. David Walker tried in vain to find me one though a pair had been there earlier.  He did find a Red Eared Terrapin and a Grass Snake and several other Dragons and Damsels.

In a late afternoon visit to the Hanson Hide at Arc Pit 4 Wood Sandpipers dropped in and a Greenshank flew over.

Common Darter

Common Darter

Red Eyed Damselfly

Grass Snake

Red Eared Terrapin

That Heron again

Leucistic Grey Heron

A quick look at the south end of the ARC on my way to the point found only 1 Blackwit, 2 Dunlin and the Goosander. From the sea watching hide a Black Tern on The Patch with a few Common Terns and the usual Gulls. At sea a few Gannets and 6 Shelduck flew west. On the beach the Glaucous Gull still by the fishing boats round the bushes on The Point 1 Willow Warbler, 6 Wheatears and 12 Whitethroats.
On the reserve the Great White Egret still there. As i walked round Hookers i flushed the leucistic Grey Heron from a ditch and it was gone before i could get a good shot of it.

Saturday & Sunday

A late afternoon visit to the ARC on Saturday found the Pectoral Sandpiper in superb light but to distant to get any decent pics. Other Waders there were 2 Ruff, LRPs including the 2 fluff balls, Common and Green Sandpiper, Lapwing, Golden Plovers, Oystercatchers, Dunlin and the usual wild fowl. Today no sign of the Pec. but Golden Plovers had increased to 52, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 3+ Green Sandpipers, 2+ Common Sandpipers, 1 Greenshank, the LRPs and fluff balls are now a week old, the Goosander at the South end, 10+ Willow Warblers in the Willow Trail and 100+ Sand Martins feeding over the pit. At The Patch 50+ Common Terns, 1+ Arctic Tern, 1 Kittiwake and little else of note. In the bushes around The Moat/Lighthouse just 2 Willow Warblers, 18 Whitethroat and 2 Wheatears.

Its that Gull again

In 3 visits through out the day to the ARC Pit there was up to 6 Greenshanks, 9 Dunlin, 6 LRPs including the 2 chicks, 200+ Lapwing + the 2 young that are now nearly fledged, 2 Blackwits, 1 Wood sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpipers, 5 Common Sandpipers, 14 Golden Plover, 9 Little Egrets, 2 Little Gulls, the Goosander still at the south end, 4 Marsh Harriers, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Green Woodpeckers and 5 Willow Warblers in the bushes.

 On the point the Glaucous Gull was in its usual spot by the fishing boats, a few Gannets, Sandwich and Common Terns off shore. In the bushes 15 Willow Warblers, 18 Whitethroats, 2 Stonechats and little else.

Common Tern diving for a fish on Dengemarsh

Leucistic Grey heron

Leucistic Grey heron

On the reserve 2, Common Sandpipers, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Greenshanks, 1 Wood sandpiper, the Great Whit Egret, 1 Hobby, 3 Marsh harriers, 4 Willow Warblers and Reed and Sedge Warblers all round the reserve. Also present on New Diggings the Leucistic Grey Heron.

Swift Demise

On the approach to Hanson  Hide this morning i found a recebtly dead Swift on the path. On inspection the Swift appeared to have broken its right wing, i can only assume it collided with a bush and broke it.

From the hide there was not a great deal as a Peregrine had just flown through, but on a later visit  there were 10 Golden Plover, 6 Blackwits, 5 LRPs including the 2 fluff balls, 1 ad Little Gull, 2 Common Sandpipers, 2 Green Sandpipers, 1 Greenshank, 1 Wimbrel, 1 Curlew, 8 Dunlin, 6 Little Egrets and 3 Marsh Harriers also 4 Willow Warblers in the bushes, 2 Green Woodpeckers and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

On the point/The Moat/Trapping area 12 Willow Warblers, numerous Whitethroats, 72 Swifts flew South 2 Green Woodpeckers and another Nightingale was trapped.

On the reserve little of note on the islands on Burrowes Pit, but between Scot Hide and Christmas Dell 12 Willow Warblers, 16+ Whitethroats, a Greenshank flew over and my first Common Redstart of the Autumn. The Great White Egret was on show from Christmas Dell as was the leucistic Grey Heron briefly.